When it comes to the sound of the acoustic guitar a feeling of romance is sure to be conjured up by the many aficionados of this great musical instrument. The music spectrum of this instrument include hot spicy flamenco dance numbers and soft and melodic songs with many textures of sound and melody. Not many people will appreciate the range of music an acoustic guitar has, but just about everyone will recognise the beautiful tunes that an acoustic guitar makes.

Have you ever had the dream of being able to play an acoustic guitar? Do you ever walk past a shop that sells them, and get the urge to go inside pick one up, feel the sturdy neck and caress the strings to play a tune? Did you ever wonder how much it would cost to learn to play one? Or have you wondered just how difficult it would be to learn maybe?

Imagine how good it would be to be sitting in front of your friends and family and show off your newly acquired talent of being able to play the guitar you just bought. Do you ever think in frustration that if you only had the time you could seriously get down to the business off learning to play.

Although you might get the idea that acoustic guitars are some kind of magical instruments there is nothing really that special in their make up. It is just their music that conveys that special mysticism that surrounds them. Think about when you were little and learned to write. At first it seems like you have achieved something that is wonderful but eventually it becomes second nature to undertake all kinds of writing assignments with a mere pencil being the instrument that allows you to do this. This is the same with an acoustic guitar, it is merely the instrument that allows you and your skill to make beautiful music. And as far as learning to play the acoustic guitar, the same principles like learning to write apply. You start to doodle first by playing around with it and then you get more and more the feel of it till music starts to pour out from your fingers into the guitar.

Indeed an acoustic guitar does come across as a fairly compelling instrument, especially if you never played it before. When music comes out of guitars it stands head and shoulders above the sounds of most other instruments which is why it is so popular. Practice enough and you can almost play any tune.

The outstanding qualities that the acoustic guitar has, often leads people to approach it with too much awe. They can’t see that the music comes not from the guitar but from the person that plays it.

You will not be wasting your time if you take the time and energy to learn how to play the acoustic guitar. So if you happen to have one gathering dust in the attic, then go get it, or go and buy one at your local music store. Whatever you do, you will not be disappointed.

As a beginner acoustic guitarist you’re probably wondering whether learning your songs from guitar tablature is as good as getting them from “real” sheet music. Learning to play acoustic guitar is a great adventure which is sometimes spoilt a bit by the prospect of having to learn to read music. But for most acoustic guitar players, learning all the symbols and theory connected with musical notation is not really necessary.

Tablature for acoustic guitar has certain points giving it an edge over standard music notation. Actually historians tell us that tablature was used to record musical compositions long before conventional notation. They don’t seem to have much idea how musicians attributed note values to compositions they has never heard played. Maybe it wasn’t an issue in the sixteenth century.

So what do you learn from tabs? Tablature shows diagrammatically where finger positions are indicated using numbers representing the guitar’s frets along horizontal lines representing the strings. The note G played on the first (thinnest) string is shown by the number 3 written on the top line of the tablature. Sometimes the person writing the tablature will group the notes together to show that they are all the same value but this is not a hard and fast rule.

Hammer-ons, string bends, pull-offs and other techniques are shown by symbols. Each tablature writer has his own idea of the best way to show how to play the music, and he usually includes a legend showing his symbols on each tab. With the aid of guitar tabs, you can learn new music quickly without going to the additional trouble of learning conventional music notation.

Despite the fact that tempo and time signatures are not included, sometimes it’s easier for the guitarist to pick up music from tablature. The ease with which you can learn to read tablature means that your progress on the guitar is not slowed by the need to cope with such things as the use of alternate tunings.

Another bonus is in the ease in sharing acoustic guitar music on the internet. Guitar tab is easily written on a computer by way of ASCII code, which makes it easier to email or post on the web. Maybe when you get some guitar playing experience under your belt you could try writing some music down for yourself. A great chance to see the difficulties facing composers for the guitar. Unfortunately debate over copyright issues has made posting guitar tab a little bit contentious, but you can still share tab privately by email.

A lot of guitar teachers proclaim the virtues of learning to read sheet music. Some even think you are not a “real” musician unless you can read “real” music. If you have a burning desire to follow a career in music then the versatility given you by the ability to read music will be a definite advantage. But if you look at playing music as a way of each individual expressing themselves in their own unique way, then how you write your music down is not one of the biggest issues in your life!